Aim: The aim of this investigation was to determine the frequency of mental pathologies in children and adolescents of the Yazidi minority group who immigrated to Turkey from Iraq. The refugees were asked about preventive and risk factors that occurred before and after their immigration.
Subjects and methods: The sample comprised 55 children and adolescents (30 males and 25 females) who were Yazidi refugees and had settled in the Uçkuyular, Oğuz, Onbaşi, and Uğurca villages of Batman, Turkey. The study was conducted 9 months after the refugees had immigrated. The participants were evaluated in their native language through a semistructured interview titled “Reliability and Validity of Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children – Present and Lifetime Version – Turkish Version”. A sociodemographic form was prepared so that investigators could understand their traumatic experiences before and after the migration and their current social conditions. All the interviews were conducted in the participants’ native language without the help of translators. The investigators filled out the sociodemographic forms. Results: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was detected in 20 children (36.4%), depression in 18 (32.7%), nocturnal enuresis in six (10.9%), and anxiety in four (7.3%). The following factors were found to be associated with depression: witnessing violence and/or death, being a girl, having older parents, being the elder child, and having multiple siblings (P<0.05). Risk factors for PTSD, depression, and comorbid conditions included witnessing violence and/or death (P<0.05). Four participants were observed to have both PTSD and depression (7.3%). Conclusion: Most of the refugee children had experienced serious traumatic events in their home country. PTSD, depression, and comorbid mental problems are frequently seen in refugee children.

Objective: To examine the mental health states of a sample of Yazidi refugee children and adolescents who migrated from war-torn Iraq’s Sinjar region and to determine the risk and protective factors for psychiatric disorders among the refugee children and adolescents. Method: The participants of this research were children and adolescents between ages 6 and 17 who live in a refugee camp in Turkey. Their parents/guardians provided written informed consents for the research. The research was approved by the Ethics Council of Sakarya University. Participants with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders were excluded from the study. Two child and adolescent psychiatrists speaking their native language interviewed and evaluated each of the participants. Collected data included socio-demographic information about previous and current living situations, Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime – Turkish Version (K-SADS-PL). Results: One hundred and thirty-six children and adolescents (76 boys, 63 girls; mean age = 11.05 ± 3.11 (SD)). At the time of the assessment, 43.4% had posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (n = 59), 27.9% depression (n = 38), 10.3% nocturnal enuresis (n = 14), 9.6% behavioural problems (n = 7), and 5.1% anxiety disorders (n = 13). Conclusions: Many of the refugee children and adolescents had developed psychiatric disorders, or are at risk for PTSD and depression. Also, the ongoing ambiguity regarding their living conditions, interruption of their education, a lack of hope for the future and anxiety regarding the ones they left behind are considered to be risk factors for the development of psychiatric and social problems in the future. Living with family members and not having losses from the immediate family are protective factors.

Background: Disclosing the sexual abuse may be related on many individual and/or environmental factors in all age groups. The sociocultural context is the most influential factor of the disclosing process especially for those living in patriarchal cultural values. This study compares the impacts of sexual abuse and other sociodemographic variables between recanting and non-recanting victimized groups in Adana city from Turkey. Methods: The samples attending our department were divided into two groups: group 1 comprised victims who recanted their first abuse disclosure, and group 2 comprised victims who insisted on the veracity of their first report at further evaluations. The characteristics of the child, family, and abuser were compared between recanting victims and non-recanting victims by retrospective data. Results: Each group included 27 children, for a total of 54 subjects. All adverse social reactions after the sexual abuse, including keeping secrets and a repressive family attitude, were higher among group 1 victims than group 2 victims (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Although they are victimized by protecting family integrity, victims may show a tendency to keep secrets and to not immediately disclose an abuse event.

Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı, çocuk mahkemeleri tarafından sağlık tedbiri alınan ve çocuk ergen psikiyatrisi polikliniğine yönlendirilen olguların ruhsal bozukluk tanılarınıvesosyodemografik değişkenlerini incelemektir. Gereç ve Yöntem: Sakarya Üniversitesi Çocuk Psikiyatri Polikliniği'ne sağlık tedbiri alınması nedeniyle yönlendirilen çocuk ve ergenler ruhsal bozukluk tanıları, eğitim tedbiri alınıp alınmadığı ve sosyodemografik özellikleri açısından geriye dönük olarak incelenmiştir. Bulgular: Çocuk ve ergenlerin % 15’nde tanı olmadığı, %15’nde travma sonrası stres bozukluğu, % 17’nde mentalretardasyon ve % 26,3’ünde dikkat eksiliği hiperaktivitebozukluğu +davranım bozukluğu ve %45’nde ise diğer tanılar saptanmıştır. Çocuk ve ergenlerin %79’nda ilaç tedavisi uygulanmış olduğu, %50’sinin il merkezinden ve geri kalanlar ise diğer ilçelerden geldiği belirlenmiştir. Çalışmadaki çocuk ve ergenlerin %28’i okulu bırakmış olduğu saptanmıştır. Sonuç: Çalışmamız çocuk mahkemeleri tarafından sağlık tedbiri alınan çocukların yüksekoranlarda ruhsal bozukluk tanısı aldıklarını göstermektedir. Çocuk koruma sistemi içinde bulunan çocukların ruh sağlığını etkileyen risk ve koruyucu faktörlerin belirlenmesi amacıyla ülkemizde daha fazla çalışma yapılması gerekmektedir